Resolving Suspended Chords
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Resolving Suspended Chords
I recently sat down to play around at the piano, and found that if I resolve a Dsus by taking the middle voice through the three, down to the two, and then back up to the F# for a D, the chord wants to resolve in a G. Why is this?
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F. Douglass
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Hmm. Let me illustrate.Saurencaerthai wrote:Perhaps I'm not understanding your terminology, but the D is being suspended over what chord to begin with?
Code: Select all
A -- A -- A -- A -- B
G -- F# - E -- F# - G
D -- D -- D -- D -- D
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Regardless of how it "feels," that is resolved. Maybe your piano is out of tune?Surlethe wrote:Hmm. Let me illustrate.Saurencaerthai wrote:Perhaps I'm not understanding your terminology, but the D is being suspended over what chord to begin with?
This is the sequence I had in mind, and the fourth chord doesn't feel resolved; it wants to go to the G-chord instead. Am I clearer?Code: Select all
A -- A -- A -- A -- B G -- F# - E -- F# - G D -- D -- D -- D -- D
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Well, first of all, in terms of classical theory, you don't really have a suspension to resolve. If the G from your first chord is held over and suspended from the previous chord, then you do, but with the limited information you've presented here, I can't in good conscience call it a suspension. Now! Moving away from the technicalities...Surlethe wrote:Hmm. Let me illustrate.
This is the sequence I had in mind, and the fourth chord doesn't feel resolved; it wants to go to the G-chord instead. Am I clearer?Code: Select all
A -- A -- A -- A -- B G -- F# - E -- F# - G D -- D -- D -- D -- D
Second of all, the progression does resolve with the last, but your brain might not be registering it because it wants to hear the root in the bass*. You've got a nice pedal tone thing going on with all your D's, but I'll bet if you double the root and eliminate the 5th (no worries, you're allowed) by putting a G in the bass for the last chord, your ear will say, "That's what I wanted!" because it'll make the resolution sound more prominent. Try it and see if that feels better.
*Edit: In case you aren't sure why this would be, a chord with the 5th in the bass ends up sounding more like a tonic than a dominant chord in the key. So, in plainer English, to make it sound more like a G chord, put a G in the bass.
Last edited by Zaia on 2006-07-17 01:00pm, edited 1 time in total.
"On the infrequent occasions when I have been called upon in a formal place to play the bongo drums, the introducer never seems to find it necessary to mention that I also do theoretical physics." -Richard Feynman
Zaia wrote:Well, first of all, in terms of classical theory, you don't really have a suspension to resolve. If the G from your first chord is held over and suspended from the previous chord, then you do, but with the limited information you've presented here, I can't in good conscience call it a suspension. Now! Moving away from the technicalities...Surlethe wrote:Hmm. Let me illustrate.
This is the sequence I had in mind, and the fourth chord doesn't feel resolved; it wants to go to the G-chord instead. Am I clearer?Code: Select all
A -- A -- A -- A -- B G -- F# - E -- F# - G D -- D -- D -- D -- D
Second of all, the progression does resolve with the last, but your brain might not be registering it because it wants to hear the root in the bass. You've got a nice pedal tone thing going on with all your D's, but I'll bet if you double the root and eliminate the 5th (no worries, you're allowed) by putting a G in the bass for the last chord, your ear will say, "That's what I wanted!" because it'll make the resolution sound more prominent. Try it and see if that feels better.
Could you people repeat that in Egyptian hieroglyphs? Because it might make more sense that way...
Seriously, I suck at all aspects of music, so anyone who can carry a tune with an instrument has my automatic respect for possessing a skill I'll never be able to master.
Giving me a musical instrument must be a breach of several different weapon ban treaties. My singing is somewhat better, which means that I merely sound like a crow with a sore throat on a good day. The bad ones, you don't want to know...
Edi
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Why is it so goddamned hard to get little assholes like you to admit it when you fuck up? Is it pride? What gives you the right to have any pride?
–Darth Wong to vivftp
GOP message? Why don't they just come out of the closet: FASCISTS R' US –Patrick Degan
The GOP has a problem with anyone coming out of the closet. –18-till-I-die
No, alas, I cannot. However, I do thank you for quoting what I said, because it brought to mind something which I forgot to address previously.Edi wrote:
Could you people repeat that in Egyptian hieroglyphs? Because it might make more sense that way...
Bah, 'never' is crap; if you had a good teacher and the time and motivation to learn, I have every faith you could do it.Edi wrote:Seriously, I suck at all aspects of music, so anyone who can carry a tune with an instrument has my automatic respect for possessing a skill I'll never be able to master.
Giving me a musical instrument must be a breach of several different weapon ban treaties. My singing is somewhat better, which means that I merely sound like a crow with a sore throat on a good day. The bad ones, you don't want to know...
Edi
"On the infrequent occasions when I have been called upon in a formal place to play the bongo drums, the introducer never seems to find it necessary to mention that I also do theoretical physics." -Richard Feynman
Sorry; I'm an unschooled heathen who just picks stuff up here and there and plays stuff every now and again.Zaia wrote:Well, first of all, in terms of classical theory, you don't really have a suspension to resolve. If the G from your first chord is held over and suspended from the previous chord, then you do, but with the limited information you've presented here, I can't in good conscience call it a suspension. Now! Moving away from the technicalities...
I'm not being very clear in my question. It's, why does the chord resolve with the G, and not with the penultimate D? Does that make sense? I tried putting a G in the bass, and it did resolve nicely, but why does it resolve to the subdominant instead of the tonic (D, in this case)? Am I making sense at all?Second of all, the progression does resolve with the last, but your brain might not be registering it because it wants to hear the root in the bass*. You've got a nice pedal tone thing going on with all your D's, but I'll bet if you double the root and eliminate the 5th (no worries, you're allowed) by putting a G in the bass for the last chord, your ear will say, "That's what I wanted!" because it'll make the resolution sound more prominent. Try it and see if that feels better.
Okay; that makes sense.*Edit: In case you aren't sure why this would be, a chord with the 5th in the bass ends up sounding more like a tonic than a dominant chord in the key. So, in plainer English, to make it sound more like a G chord, put a G in the bass.
A Government founded upon justice, and recognizing the equal rights of all men; claiming higher authority for existence, or sanction for its laws, that nature, reason, and the regularly ascertained will of the people; steadily refusing to put its sword and purse in the service of any religious creed or family is a standing offense to most of the Governments of the world, and to some narrow and bigoted people among ourselves.
F. Douglass
How is D the tonic? Are there more chords to this progression that you've left out, or is this it? Because my ear is telling me you're in the key of G major, and that D is your dominant.Surlethe wrote:I'm not being very clear in my question. It's, why does the chord resolve with the G, and not with the penultimate D? Does that make sense? I tried putting a G in the bass, and it did resolve nicely, but why does it resolve to the subdominant instead of the tonic (D, in this case)? Am?I making sense at all?
The F# in the D chord is trying to resolve up to G. The 3rd chord tone in the dominant chord of any key is called the leading tone (in this case, the F#), because it leads up to the root of the tonic chord (in this case, the G). The fact that you've repeated the D chord and have D being repeated in every chord as a pedal tone in the bass only strengthens the feel of the dominant and makes the resolution from the F# up to the G feel more like G is the tonic. If this was not your intention, to end up in the key of G, I suggest you change your chord progression.
"On the infrequent occasions when I have been called upon in a formal place to play the bongo drums, the introducer never seems to find it necessary to mention that I also do theoretical physics." -Richard Feynman
Hmm. I suppose the context matters more than I had previously assumed. Here's a chord progression I just threw together:Zaia wrote:How is D the tonic? Are there more chords to this progression that you've left out, or is this it? Because my ear is telling me you're in the key of G major, and that D is your dominant.
D G C A D G Dsus G -- how's that?
You edited your post while I was at the piano, you sneaky, you. This very much clears up the issue; thanks.The F# in the D chord is trying to resolve up to G. The 3rd chord tone in the dominant chord of any key is called the leading tone (in this case, the F#), because it leads up to the root of the tonic chord (in this case, the G). The fact that you've repeated the D chord and have D being repeated in every chord as a pedal tone in the bass only strengthens the feel of the dominant and makes the resolution from the F# up to the G feel more like G is the tonic. If this was not your intention, to end up in the key of G, I suggest you change your chord progression.
A Government founded upon justice, and recognizing the equal rights of all men; claiming higher authority for existence, or sanction for its laws, that nature, reason, and the regularly ascertained will of the people; steadily refusing to put its sword and purse in the service of any religious creed or family is a standing offense to most of the Governments of the world, and to some narrow and bigoted people among ourselves.
F. Douglass
It's a bit strange if they're all major chords. My ear still puts it in the key of G (slightly less emphatically than before, but since you end on a G chord, it still sounds like an authentic cadence, which is just a fancy way of saying "It goes dominannnnnnnnnnnnt-->tonic!").Surlethe wrote:Hmm. I suppose the context matters more than I had previously assumed. Here's a chord progression I just threw together:
D G C A D G Dsus G -- how's that?
Basically, western tonal music is about one of two things: moving from tonic to dominant, or moving from dominant to tonic. In your progression, you spend more time in the dominant or pre-dominant area (which means your ear wants you to resolve it at the end with the tonic, or G chord): for instance, the A chord, which to my ear should be an A minor, is a pre-dominant chord. In the key of G, an A minor chord would be analyzed as a ii chord, which naturally leans towards V (the dominant, D in this case). The other pre-dominant chord you've got is the C major chord, which in the key of G is analyzed as a IV, which also naturally leans towards V (the dominant). If you started on a G chord instead of a D, this would be a very nice textbook progression for G major, babe.
Aye, sorry. I haven't had to explain this stuff for quite a while; I'm a bit rusty.Surlethe wrote:You edited your post while I was at the piano, you sneaky, you. This very much clears up the issue; thanks.
"On the infrequent occasions when I have been called upon in a formal place to play the bongo drums, the introducer never seems to find it necessary to mention that I also do theoretical physics." -Richard Feynman